Defender Liam Ridgewell celebrates scoring a goal for West Brom. After 11 seasons in England and unable to secure a contract, Ridgewell has signed with the Portland Timbers to add more reinforcements to their defense. With recent trades and injuries, Ridgewell will likely be appearing for the club as soon as possible once his international paperwork is approved.

Ridgewell marks the second recent
acquisition to the Timbers backline – center
back Danny O'Rourke was signed on May 27 after training with the team for
several weeks – and becomes the team's third designated player alongside
Diego Valeri and Adi. Ridgewell will
also occupy an international spot on the Timbers roster, so Portland is near
the maximum available spots. While each team starts the season with eight
spots, the Timbers have been close to their allotment all season with the acquisitions
of Adi, Paparatto, Fernandez and now Ridgewell.
In conversations with the Timbers, I was able to confirm that Diego
Valeri and Pa Modou Kah have recently received their green cards, so they would
not count in the international roster list.
The trade of Danso gave the Timbers an available roster spot, and
Ridgewell would slide into that count for Portland. Ridgewell comes to Portland
with an impressive resume of work in the Premiership over 11 seasons with
English sides Aston Villa, Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion, but he was
a free agent looking for a new playing opportunity.